The Gigabyte Aorus 17 generally costs less and has a better battery life, making it a more budget-friendly option with relatively long untethered usage. It features a large 17-inch display, a high refresh rate, and solid performance which makes it suitable for gaming and general tasks; however, its heavier weight reduces its portability. In contrast, the Razer Blade 18, while more expensive, offers a more powerful processor, superior graphics, and twice the RAM, enhancing its capability for 3D rendering, machine learning, and demanding engineering software. It also has a larger 18-inch display with higher resolution and pixel density, delivering sharper images and better color accuracy. However, this model has a shorter battery life and is slightly heavier, which may affect portability. Both laptops have quality builds and cooling systems, but the Razer Blade 18 boasts higher quality in terms of keyboard, webcam, speaker, and build. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 17
Good battery life
Advantages of the Razer Blade 18
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
267.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
6.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.1/10
The Razer Blade 18 is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is good.
The Razer Blade 18 is deemed better for general use because it holds a substantially more powerful CPU and double the RAM of the Gigabyte Aorus 17, contributing to its superior multitasking and processing capabilities; moreover, its display delivers higher resolution, greater brightness, and wider color coverage, enhancing visual experience. However, the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is lighter and boasts a longer battery life, which may make it more appealing for those prioritizing portability and time away from a power source.
Gaming and AI
8.1/10
8.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The Razer Blade 18 and Gigabyte Aorus 17 are both very good for gaming and AI, though the Razer Blade 18 is somewhat better.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17, equipped with a Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, offers solid gaming and 3D performance with a high screen refresh rate, which is good for fast-paced games. However, the Razer Blade 18 stands out with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU and an even higher refresh rate along with a greater screen pixel density and brightness, making it excellent for immersive gaming and detailed 3D work.
Engineering and Design
8.4/10
9.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Razer Blade 18 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is very good.
The Razer Blade 18 outshines the Gigabyte Aorus 17 in engineering and design tasks with a superior CPU, double the RAM, more advanced GPU, and significantly better screen quality, which ensures smoother performance and finer detail in complex projects. However, the Aorus 17 is slightly more portable and has better battery life, making it a more convenient choice for on-the-go users, despite its lesser performance compared to the Razer Blade 18.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 18 and Gigabyte Aorus 17 are both very good for content creation, though the Razer Blade 18 is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.5/10
8.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 18 is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
8.0/10
8.9/10
17.3in
SIZE
18.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
267.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
The Razer Blade 18 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When evaluating laptops for general use, the Gigabyte Aorus 17 and Razer Blade 18 both offer good to very good screen qualities with clear resolution and bright displays, making everything from web browsing to video watching pleasant. For engineering and design work where color accuracy is crucial, both have strong color reproduction capabilities covering wide color gamuts, ensuring that designs appear as intended. However, for gaming and 3D applications where motion clarity is key, their lower refresh rates may not provide the smoothest visual experience, despite their adequate resolution and panel quality.
Battery
6.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 18 has 4 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Razer Blade 18 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$10
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Gigabyte Aorus 17 has a price of $1,700 and the Razer Blade 18 costs $10.
"The Gigabyte Aorus 17 is a powerful high-end gaming machine. The Aorus 17 is a potent gaming notebook in a 17.3-inch format designed for FHD gaming at maximum settings. A Core i7-12700H processor and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU make this possible. A lightning-fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the necessary storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Aorus 17 XE4, Gigabyte delivers a well-rounded, high-performance gaming notebook."
"Razer made a powerful laptop in the Blade 18, showing off a beautiful and fast display and the same high-quality build we’ve come to expect from this product line. It’s also quite expensive, which is hardly a surprise, but bears repeating even in this price range. It’s pricier than the Scar 18 despite an inferior GPU and half the storage, so you really have to want the Blade 18’s design to justify the cost."
Get a great deal on the Gigabyte Aorus 17 or the Razer Blade 18
About Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
99,495
Recommendations made
21,558
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.